Even Heroes Need Best Friends
by Accio Abarero
Summary: A collection of short stories focusing on Percy Jackson and his relationships. Two stories up. One Percy and Grover friendship, one Percy/Annabeth.
1. In Which Grover Grows a Garden

This is my collection of short stories focused on the Percy Jackson series. They will vary from general/friendship fic, to Percy/Annabeth romance.

**Title:** In Which Grover Grows a Garden  
**Genre:** Friendship/General  
**Rating:** G  
**Characters:** Percy + Grover  
**Summary:** You'd think after going sword to sword with Ares or visiting the Underworld and living to tell about it that something as simple as flowers wouldn't be fascinating.  
**Notes:** Set before Grover's departure on the 4th of July in _The Lightning Thief_.

* * *

It was something like amoebas; you know those blobs that all life started from or something like that? Anyways, when an amoeba wants to make another amoeba it just splits into two. I'm sure there's some fancy scientific name for this process, but since I can't remember it at all (let's face it, science stuff like this is kind of boring compared to blowing things up in the lab) I'm going to call it replication. So amoebas replicate, and at that very moment, Grover was playing something on his reed pipes that was having the same effect on flowers.

I couldn't help but stare. Even after all the crazy hijinks I'd been through, little things like this still shocked me. You'd think after going sword to sword with Ares or visiting the Underworld and living to tell about it that something as simple as flowers wouldn't be fascinating. Actually, I would probably never admit aloud I found flowers fascinating either- Annabeth would _never_ let me hear the end of it and the Demeter kids might get the wrong idea.

But it was Grover, and letting Grover know that something he'd done impressed me always made him light up with a smile. And hey- isn't that what best friends are for?

"How are you doing that? It's really cool."

The reed pipe tune, which sounded a lot like something by Elton John, abruptly halted as Grover whipped his head around to see me.

"Oh hey Percy."

"That some sort of replication song?" I asked pointing to the row of flowers he'd made grow alongside cabin three.

Grover blushed, probably embarrassed that I'd caught him doing something like charming flowers. He shuffled his feet, suddenly very interested in a rock by his left hoof.

"It's a song of gratitude," he muttered.

That's when I noticed what type of flower it was. It was a water lily, but it was growing out of solid ground. A perfect gift for the son of Poseidon. Turning back to Grover, I met his eyes.

"Is this...I mean- for me?"

Grover nodded, once again finding the ground terribly interesting.

"What for?" I felt kind of stupid asking, but I honestly wasn't sure why he was thanking me. Annabeth, Grover and I had practically taken turns saving each other's life during the quest so it wasn't like thanking me directly for one of those instances would be necessary.

"For being my best friend, for wanting me to come along on the quest in the first place- a lot of things," he hurriedly said. Taking a few steps towards me, he stopped right in front of me. "But most of all, for believing in me. I wouldn't have gotten my searcher's license if it wasn't for you."

He said it so genuinely that I couldn't help but hug him, reaching a hand up to ruffle the curly hair between his horns.

"Thanks, man. You're one awesome satyr, Grover. Just remember that."

Grover sniffled, his head resting on my shoulder, "I'm going to miss you when I'm gone. It was nice having a best friend."

I pulled back, keeping my hands on his shoulders so he would look at me.

"Grover, we'll always be friends, no matter where you go or I go. So if you need me at all or just want to talk, just send me an Iris-message or call or whatever."

He smiled at that, "Okay, but only if you promise to do the same if you need me."

"Of course, G-man. You'll be the first to know."

"Percy! Grover!" I could hear Annabeth's voice calling out from near cabin six. "It's dinnertime, you two!"

"All right!" I yelled back, "Keep your shorts on!"

I didn't even have to look to know Annabeth was most likely blushing and scowling at me. Grover just laughed. Throwing my arm around Grover's shoulder I grinned.

"Okay, real quick before a certain daughter of Athena drags us to the Mess Hall- can you do that flower thing again?"

Grover's smile lit up, just like I figured it would, as he grasped his reed pipes and started to play what I'm almost certain was _Crocodile Rock_. Sure enough, the water lily replicated into two lilies, the new one moving itself over a few inches from the first one.

Concentrating as hard as I could, I felt that familiar tug in my stomach and a small pond of water seeped up from the soil and left the water lilies to float on the surface.

"There we go. Perfect."

I smiled over at Grover and he smiled back. It was probably the one and only time I would be proud of something related to me gardening. Definitely a monumental event that should be celebrated with lots of food and caffeinated beverages. Lucky for Grover and I, and our growling stomachs, it was dinnertime. Casting one last glance over at our lily pond, I challenged Grover to race me to the Mess Hall. He won, of course, but this time I didn't mind at all.

* * *


	2. In Which Percy Tries to Avoid Dancing

**Title:** In Which Percy Tries to Avoid Dancing and Fails  
**Fandom:** Percy Jackson and the Olympians  
**Genre:** General/Romance  
**Rating:** G  
**Characters/Pairings:** Annabeth/Percy, Grover, Thalia  
**Notes:** [Post Book 3], Written for **kousuke_blade**

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It wasn't that I was against the _idea_ of the dance; trust me- a little fun after all the crap I'd been through this year would be nice. Oh no, it was the fundamental concept of _dancing_ that I was against.

Now don't laugh. You probably think dances are all nice and prissy and fun, but for me? Well, let's just say that I'd rather take on a stampeding chimera than try to ask a girl to dance with me. Much easier on the nerves. It didn't help that the dance had been sprung on us at the last minute. I'd heard talk of it before now, but I never dreamed that Mr. D or Artemis would let it pass. I guess they both knew that it would drive me (and other boys like me) mad and decided to do it as a twisted sense of punishment.

Some of the boys had managed to work up some courage, namely the Stoll brothers, and were leading two girls from the Hermes Cabin around the dance floor. Mr. D seemed to be enjoying himself seated at the top table with plates full of food and Chiron looked as if he would have preferred more classical music as opposed to the pop music blasting out over the floor.

Artemis hadn't come, something Thalia said was probably due to her not wanting to see her pure maidens cavorting with unsavory men, and most of the hunters stayed stalwartly seated at their table.

When I felt Chiron's gaze fall on me, I turned to Grover. We had camped out on the edge of the dance floor, myself armed with a can of coke and Grover happily munching the can I'd finished earlier.

"Hey, Grover?"

"Mhpmgh?" He had a mouth full of can and quickly swallowed it. "Yeah?"

"What are we going to do if they insist we dance?"

"I dunno," he murmured. "I could dance with you."

I grinned at him. "You forgot your wedding dress."

Grover sighed. "You are never going to let me forget that are you?"

"Nope."

We both started up as someone right in front of us cleared their throat. "Hey goat-boy, you owe me a dance."

Grover blinked, looking up to see Thalia right in his face. "I-I do?"

"Get your butt out here," she said, grabbing him by the arms and bodily hauling him onto the dance floor. I couldn't help but smile, glad to see that being a Hunter wasn't going to stop Thalia from doing whatever she pleased.

Grover stumbled around a bit, but seemed to be fairing a bit better than he had at Westover Hall. I figured it was probably because he's got a little more grace without his fake feet.

"Thalia seems happy," a voice next to me said and I jumped.

"W-Where'd you come from?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes at me. "Oh I just appeared out of nowhere. Don't mind me and go back to being a guy, Seaweed Brain."

The way she said it, I knew that she was trying to hint at something; but I didn't quite at first understand what she meant by "go back to being a guy" until I glanced around and realized that almost every male camper was huddling next to the tables and walls avoiding catching a girl's eye. The Aphrodite girls were trying their hardest to lure some of them onto the dance floor, all smiles and giggles and other girly behaviors that tend to make us guys extremely nervous for no reason whatsoever. Some had even succeeded in dragging a few away from their safe borders, and those guys looked half-dazed, half-terrified as they were taken out onto the floor.

For a moment, I thought of the sirens luring people from their safe ships; and then, my mind flashed to Annabeth. How she'd trembled in my arms after her run in with the sirens, how weak she'd looked when suffering under Atlas's burden.

"Hey, uh…" I cleared my throat, feeling rather awkward just bringing this up out of the blue. "You're okay now, aren't you? I mean- that burden it..."

She cut me off before I could finish, a tenative hand coming up to rest on my arm. "Thanks Percy, but I'm fine."

A slight smile tugged at my lips then, not quite certain what she was thanking me for but glad to hear she was okay. Where her hand still rested, my arm burned. It wasn't an unpleasant burn, but almost a very alert awareness of her hand. Impulsively, I reached up and took it, my eyes seeking out hers.

"I know you're tough, Annabeth, but I also know how much holding the sky takes out of you. If you're not up to being here, if you're tired…"

She laughed lightly, her cheeks turning pink as if I'd embarrassed her somehow. "Percy, you held it up too. Stop fussing over me and just ask me to dance already."

I swallowed thickly, all words being constricted in my throat. My hand that gripped her hand suddenly became very sweaty.

Sighing in exasperation, she pulled me out onto the dance floor. "Come on, unless _you're_ too tired for another dance."

My mind flashed back to my dance with her at the Olympian party and I knew I had to blushing. There was dancing in front of random gods and goddesses and there was dancing in front of your fellow campers. Needless to say, the second is the scarier option.

But before I could protest without making a huge scene, there I was in the middle of the Mess Hall with Annabeth moving my hand onto her waist and grasping the other one with a hand of her own.

I hung my head in a vain attempt to hide my scarlet face from the crowd and ended up accidentally leaning my forehead down against Annabeth's instead.

"Percy?" She asked nervously. I tried to act cool, not wanting all the thousands of eyes that I could now feel staring at me to think I was some jerk who ditched girls at dances.

"You were very brave." The words tumbled out of my mouth before I even registered them. Annabeth blushed, but not in a blotchy unattractive way like most people. It was somehow…nice looking.

"You're the brave one, Percy. You always are." She said it so quietly, I almost didn't hear her. I had to smile. This was probably one of the few times I couldn't bring myself to tease her about being modest.

I let go of her waist for a moment, reaching up to brush the strands of gray in her hair as I laughed. "Okay, you be the smart one and I'll be the brave one. And that leaves Grover to put up with us bickering over problems in which I want to do something stupidly brave and you want to be safe and smart. It's a win-win situation."

Annabeth smiled then, shaking her head in amusement as she replied. "You're a genius, Seaweed Brain."

Returning the smile and somehow no longer noticing all the campers staring, I put my hand back down on her waist as we turned in beat to the music.

"I try my best, Wise Girl. I try my best."


End file.
